REVIEW: Pixies, Death To The Pixies (Elektra)
A two disc retrospective - one 'greatest hits', one live - might seem like overkill for any normal band that released only four albums and never achieved any huge mainstream success. But, in death as in life, the Pixies prove that they are not any normal band.
The seventeen track greatest hits disc - the second disc is 21 songs culled from a 1990 concert recorded live in Holland - focuses on the epic masterpiece of the Pixies brief career, 1989's Doolittle. That album's highlights - the simplistic yet addictive "Monkey Gone To Heaven" , the poppy "Here Comes Your Man" and classic "Wave of Mutilation" - are all included here. The early years aren't forgotten as the stepping stone for future success; die-hards get three songs from the "Come On Pilgrim" EP, and the Black Francis/Kim Deal collaboration from Surfer Rosa, "Gigantic", appears as well. Bossa Nova is equally covered on both discs of this compilation (the live disc is from the Bossa Nova tour), but when it comes time to cover Trompe Le Monde , the Pixies really do fool the world by leaving off that album's two biggest songs, "Letter To Memphis" and their lackluster cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Head On".
Trompe Le Monde was showing that a fire can only last so long before burning out. But, this fire spread to other campers; Black Francis' works gained acceptance by the critics, Kim Deal's Breeders spawned their own offshoots (Tanya Donnelly in Belly and Throwing Muses), and numerous other bands, all owing their debt to the Pixies. Take one listen to the chord changes towards the end of "Debaser" , and you'll have a hard time believing that "Come As You Are" was the only Nirvana hit on which Mr. Cobain borrowed liberally from other artists.
TRACK LISTING, Disc 1: Cecilia Ann, Planet of Sound, Tame, Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Dig For Fire, Caribou, Holiday Song, Nimrod's Song, U-Mass, Bone Machine, Gigantic, Where Is My Mind, Velouria, Gouge Away, Monkey Gone To Heaven
